It was born of University of Chicago nerds at the end of McCarthyism, back when cutting-edge comedy meant jokes about your mother-in-law. It fed on the slow Chicago burn of 1960s counterculture, even though the demons of drugs and alcohol took down more...

The famed Chicago satirical troupe turns 50 this month, and not everyone agrees on what kind of work it actually does. Second City has always insisted it be viewed and treated as a theater (it has a contract with Actorsâ ...